Wake Up
by PhantomTwilighter2009
Summary: Arianna is having trouble with her reality.  Everywhere she looks, she sees a man in a white robe and the only thing she knows about him is that his name is Altair and that he wants something from her, but what?
1. You Dreamt It

**Wake Up**

Arianna's eyes were closed and her body was aching. Was she asleep? When did she fall asleep? Where had she fallen asleep? Wherever it was, it wasn't comfortable! Her body quickly tensed up, several thoughts were running through her head; the main one being: where was she? Keeping her eyes closed, Arianna listened to the noises around, hoping that it would help her narrow down areas. The first thing she noticed were a bunch of voices shouting and screaming at each other, some friendly, some not so much. The people who were talking were speaking a totally different language and she let out a deep breath of frustration; this was perfect! She was in a place where the people spoke a language other than English. The next thing she could feel was the hard, uncomfortable ground beneath her. Arianna could feel the tiny rocks and pebbles on the ground digging into her cheek, but she ignored it for the time being. She figured that she was outside because she could feel the sun's warm rays hitting her face.

_Alright; I'm in a country that doesn't speak English, I'm outside, and from what I can tell nobody is bothering me. _Arianna knew that she had to figure out a way to leave wherever she was, so she opened her eyes and took a quick look around her; she could see that all the buildings surrounding her appeared to be older than the buildings she was used to seeing. They were made out of wood or stone and the people around her were wearing very conservative clothing; everything was covered up! Letting her eyes drift downwards, Arianna was wearing her favorite pair of baggy sweat pants and a white tank top that was a little low, even for her personal liking!

Sitting up, she let a small groan out as her muscles ached and stood up, trying her best to ignore the stares that she was receiving. _Just breathe. If you can breathe, you'll be able to make it. _Arianna took her first step out of her hiding spot and began to walk in the crowd trying to blend in, but it was proving rather difficult. She was sticking out like a sore thumb; a very sore thumb. She could feel the stares burning into her skull, her own dark brown eyes making contact with the people looking at her. Quickly shifting her eyes to her feet, she noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes; her semi-calloused feet were walking on the rough uneven ground. _It could be worse I guess._

Arianna could still feel the stares on her body, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before, but now that there wasn't anything to distract her thoughts and questions, they began to bombard her relentlessly. She was alone here with no one around. Had she been kidnapped? Why couldn't she remember how she got here? And if she had been kidnapped, did they kill her family to get her? Arianna felt a pit grow in her stomach at the thought of her family being killed because of her. She was so worried about what had happened to her and her family that she wasn't paying any attention to where she was walking and soon did something that turned her face bright red: she bumped into someone.

She was embarrassed to say the least, even though she probably did more damage to herself than to the person she had run into; the body was pretty solid and didn't even seem to flinch. Should she apologize? Would the person even understand her if she tried to apologize? Her mouth felt dry and fuzzy and she kept her eyes towards the ground, trying to avoid the man's gaze.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you." Arianna stuttered, her palms were beginning to sweat.

"Fine." The voice was deep and smooth and she felt her eyes widen at the word; he understood her? How come everyone else around her was speaking a different language?

Looking up at the man she had hit, she noticed that his clothes looked different from everybody else's: he was wearing a white robe with a red sash across his middle with leather also wrapped around it. He had on an arm brace and as she looked closer, she noticed that he had no ring finger. Shivering at the thought of how he lost it, Arianna tried to fight the impulse to look straight at the man's face, but it wasn't going as great as she had hoped. She wanted to see the face that was attached to the man's calm, slightly irritated voice. Quickly looking up, she let a tiny gasp escape her lips: the hood covered most of the man's face, but she could see that he had a strong jaw line and chin, matching the rest of his solid physique, his lips were set in a straight line, showing how annoyed he was to be disturbed. She wished she could see the rest of his face. She couldn't help but wonder what it looked like!

"I'll be on my way then." Arianna's voice quivered. She was trying to act brave, but she was failing miserably at it. Stepping around the big man, she continued on her way, her eyes still averted to the ground. _Just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. It will help take your mind off of things. One step. Two step. One step. Two step._

While she was walking down the stone road, Arianna noticed that something was wrong; the voices around her were starting to diminish, but not the number of people. Was she reaching a quieter part of wherever she was? The facial expressions on the people showed that they were still shouting at each other. Was this some sort of joke? Was her hearing going as well? Gazing around her, she felt her jaw drop as everything and everyone beginning to fade into nothing. Everything, the stalls, the people, the buildings, the animals, they were all disappearing and what was left was just a white…area!

"Hello? What's going on? Is anybody here?" she called out. Arianna was crossing her fingers that there might be someone around that could help her get out of this nightmare. Just seconds ago she was in an old market and now she was in some random white oblivion and it was really starting to freak her out!

"You have information that I seek."

That voice! She knew that voice! Spinning around, Arianna gave a surprised look at the man. How come she could hear him perfectly? See him perfectly? It didn't make any sense! _None of this is making sense. This whole thing isn't making any sense!_ "What information? I don't even know you!" Of course she didn't know him and he didn't know her! _Great witty comeback. Maybe next time you can smack him with your purse and run off!_

"Don't say that. You know the information that I want. Tell me and maybe I won't have to take it by force." The man said, taking a step towards her.

What did he want to know? Did he want to know that she lived with her single mom, her mom's boyfriend, her little sister, and her pet goldfish? What school she went to? That she failed her latest algebra test?

"I have no information to give you! I don't understand what you're even talking about!"

The man gave a frustrated sigh and before she could blink, a blade was at her throat, ready to slice it at any given moment. "I shall give you one last chance. Give me the information that I seek or I'll take your life here and now."

Arianna couldn't move muscle; she was terrified! If she moved, she would die. If she didn't give this man some important information, she would die. And even if she did give him the information that he was looking for, she didn't know if she was going to live. Perhaps if she just gave him some random bullshit about herself then maybe, just maybe, she would make it out of this with her head still on her shoulders.

"I live in a three bedroom, two bathroom apartment with my mom, Dayita, my little sister, Hasina, my mom's boyfriend, Barry Jo, and my goldfish, Frank. I go to St. Joseph High School; it's a girls only Roman Catholic high school in Brooklyn, New York and I play the clarinet for the band. I'm on the soccer team, president of the Anime Club, and I'm top of my class. That's all the information that I've got!"

"That information is useless to me! Tell me about Templars! Where are they hiding?" the man asked, his blade pressing deeper into her throat. _I've got to think fast! Think fast, think fast, think fast!_

"Templars? You mean like the Crusades? What are you talking about?"

"You make no sense. You are one of them, aren't you? Or have you completely gone mad?" The man sounded genuinely curious. Arianna decided the best thing to do would be to play the role of the crazy Templar who knew nothing! Even though she was pretty sure she was only digging herself a deeper whole.

"I don't know who the Templars are or what you're talking about! I'm not crazy! I'm completely normal!" she threw in a nutty laugh for good measure.

"Well, I guess I have no use for you then." He whispered and before she could blink, the blade had left her throat and straight into her back.

Arianna felt a sharp blade pierce through her back; it was like fire ripping through her. Cold and hot at the same time. She could hear the man whispering something to her that she couldn't make out and she could feel the darkness creeping up on her…growing closer…and closer until…

"Arianna, it's time to wake up!" a voice cried out.

Jerking upright, she gasped breath, trying to figure out where she was. Was she still dreaming? She couldn't be dreaming! She could feel something soft underneath her and noticed that it was her bed and her multitude of blankets around her. Looking around, she saw her bedroom walls, which were covered with posters of anime, Michael Jackson, and pictures of herself as a little girl. She saw her bookshelf with all of her personal junk sitting on it still collecting dust like always and her terrified gaze turned down towards the floor and she saw that it was messy and that her school uniform was still sitting right by her bed; it was in the same place as she had tossed it. Everything was still in its right place.

"Arianna, did you hear me?" That was her mom! What day was it today? Wednesday? Thursday? Groping in the dark for her cell phone, Arianna was able to grab it and saw that it was 6:30 AM, Friday. _It was only a dream. A very, very bad dream. Hopefully I'll never have it again. _

Raking her hand through her unruly ear length brown hair, she stood up from her bed and turned the light on, planning on getting ready for school, but when she turned back around a scream got caught in throat: there was a small patch of red on her sheets where her back had been moments before! Without thinking, Arianna's hands flew to her back and she felt her blood run cold when she felt the sticky substance on her white tank top and she nearly fainted when she saw it on her hands. She quickly took her tank top off and her hands once more went to her back, but she couldn't feel anything! There wasn't a cut, scrap, scratch, nothing! Nothing to show for her bleeding! _What the hell is going on? This is exactly where the man in the robes had stabbed me! How am I going to hide this from my mom? From my teachers? _

Arianna decided that the only thing she could do at the moment was to tear off her sheets and toss them in the wash before her mother found them and questioned her about the blood, but she wasn't too worried. Usually Barry Jo was the one who did all the laundry and her mom did practically everything else and Barry Jo learned a long time ago to not ask questions when there was blood on the sheets because it meant, in his own words, that "Aunt Flow was coming for a visit!" She hated it when Barry Jo treated her like she was just a little girl. In fact, she just hated Barry Jo all together. There was no redeeming quality about the man and she couldn't understand what her mother saw in him! _You'd think after two failed marriages and two kids later, you would have figured out what kind of man you would like._ Sighing, Arianna saw that the blood had actually bled into her mattress and she knew she had to tell her mom now; she had no choice!

Feeling the blood beginning to soak into her sweat pants, she pulled them off too and picked up a towel that she had left on the floor from her last shower and dashed towards her and Hasina's bathroom, hoping that her little sister wasn't in there. Giving a relieved sigh, she opened the door and quickly locked it; she wasn't in the mood for someone to walk in on her. Arianna dug through the meager medical supplies that the family kept, but she couldn't find anything that would help with the bleeding. Either she wore the towel underneath her uniform, or she could play sick until she figured out a way to stop the bleeding. _I swear, if I see that man in my dreams again I am going to smack him so hard! This is such a pain! _

"Ari, I need to use the bathroom!" Hasina's voice drifted through the door.

"Use the other bathroom!" Arianna called back, her voice seething with frustration and irritation. She had to stop the bleeding now! Hasina would flip out if she saw her back!

"But Mommy is using it!" the child whined. _Instant gratification. _Wrapping the towel around herself once more, she ran out of the bathroom, ignoring her sister's confused stare.

What was she going to do? What was she going to do? She needed to figure something out something quick, or else she would have to have a very awkward conversation with her mother later on. Walking over to her vanity mirror, Arianna turned her back towards it and craned her neck over her should, trying to get a good look at what was happening, but much to her surprise, there wasn't any blood there! It was all gone! It was just there! How could it all be gone? _This has to be some kind of joke! This is absolutely nuts! This is even weirder than my dreams!_

Shaking her head, she threw on a black tank top and then her uniform and walked casually into the kitchen, where Barry Jo was standing making breakfast for all of them. Arianna had to admit, the man might be a lazy slob who practically used her mother, but he could cook! He could really, really cook!

"Hey there, baby girl! How are you this mornin'?" Barry Jo's thick southern accent rang throughout the small kitchen. "I was wonderin' when you'd wake up." Barry Jo was an unimpressive man of 45 who had a small beer gut and was completely bald. He had chubby, boyish facial features and kind cloud gray eyes. Arianna could kind of understand how her mom fell for the man, but she still remembered the first time she had met him: she thought she was going to have a heart attack! He was the exact opposite of her and Hasina's father! Both their fathers had a muscular build and had thick hair! This man was pudgy and bald!

"I'm fine. Where's Mom? I heard her yelling at me just a minute ago?"

"She should be in the bathroom getting' ready for work, at least that's when I last saw her."

She gave a slight nod as she took a seat at the tiny dining table as Barry Jo placed a plate in front of her and she began to eat, smiling as the warm food slid down her throat. Closing her eyes, Arianna saw the man in the white robe standing in front of her, his sword pulled out as if ready to strike her. Opening her eyes, she gave a strained laugh when she saw nobody else at the table or standing in front of her. _I need to get more sleep!_

Finishing up her breakfast, Arianna grabbed her red school bag that had a picture of Edward Elric from _Fullmetal Alchemist_ on it and ran out the door. She wasn't in a huge hurry, but she wanted to get to school before all the other students did; it was her favorite part of the school day! She would sit in the library with her laptop and do last second homework and not be interrupted for at least an hour. Placing her earphones into her ears, she turned on her music and set it to her heavy metal playlist and walked at a leisurely pace down the streets of Brooklyn. Her dream was suddenly brought back into her mind and instead of seeing the tall skyscrapers of New York, she saw old, crumbling buildings of the city she had just been in and the people passing her were once again wearing their conservative clothing and again, the man in the robe was there, looking at her with a blank expression.

"What do you want from me? What do you want me to tell you?" she whispered, terrified that he would attack her again.

"Altair." Was the only thing he said before he and everything else vanished and she was once again surrounded by skyscrapers, girls in short skirts, and her heavy metal death music playing in her ear. Arianna could feel sweat beading on her forehead and people were staring at her as if she had grown a third arm! Picking up her pace, she made it to St. Joseph High School in record timing and she nearly collapsed on the stairs leading up to the building. Was this going to happen all day? Was she going to keep seeing random visions of that damn city and that man?

**We're done! Yay! I finally wrote it! It's finally done! I know I'm acting like I just finished a story, but I've been so freaking lazy lately this is a miracle that I finished this! This is my little Assassin's Creed story and I had way too much fun writing this! And I had to add in my **_**Fullmetal Alchemist **_**fangirl thing! I just had to! So, I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter and I hope that you enjoy the later ones! Love ya all!**

**^.^**


	2. I See Things

**Wake Up**

Altair looked over the rich district of the city of Jerusalem; he had a perfect view of the district, he could see everyone and everything, but he didn't come up here so he could find his next target, or to see if citizens needed his help. No, he had come up here to escape from everything. He needed to get away from Malik, Al Mualim, the brotherhood…everything! He couldn't take anymore of Malik calling him a novice and blaming him about Kadar's death! Yes, he had been the reason why the young assassin's life had been cut short, but it was Malik's fault for not protecting his younger brother while he went after the Templars! Then there was Al Mualim, his master; he had demoted him from master assassin to novice because of his one mistake in Solomon's Temple and now he was out trying to prove himself to his master that he could be more than a novice, more than an irrational man that killed to get what he wanted. He had gone against every part of the creed there was, but wasn't it for the best? If he hadn't broken the three main rules of the creed, they wouldn't have the treasure and several more men would have died besides Kadar. _I only followed Al Mualim's orders; I don't understand why they were so upset with me! _Sighing, Altair stood up on the post he had been crouching on for the past hour, spread his arms out, and leapt down into the hay pile that had been lying right beneath him. He landed in the hay, ignoring the way it poked into his skin and slowly got out; the last thing he wanted to do was gain attention, especially from the guards.

_I should have just climbed down from that tower. I need to get back to the bureau so I can talk to Malik and it would be easier to scale the rooftops than walk on foot; it would save a lot of time too. _He needed to get to the poor district as soon as possible. Altair just wanted to get the information that he needed, assassinate his target, and get back to Maysaf and prepare for his next assignment. So far, Altair couldn't make heads or tails of all of these assignments; every man he killed seemed to have his own reasons for what he had done. They were wrong doings in the eyes of the assassins, but to them they believed they were only doing good. That they were helping the cities that they controlled and destroyed. Making a mental note to talk to his master about it later, Altair continued his journey through the district, keeping his eye out for guards, beggars, and citizens that might possibly need his help. He didn't mind helping the citizens, it was his job to protect the innocent, but sometimes he wished that his conscience would just leave him alone! He always felt guilty when he had to ignore a citizen who was being harassed by the guards, but sometimes he didn't really have a choice; it was either help them, or get caught and killed. He usually chose himself.

"Please, sir, can't you spare a few coins? Just a few coins are all I ask for!" a beggar woman pleaded, running up to Altair's side. Altair let out a small groan of annoyance; couldn't these women just leave him alone? Stepping aside, he continued on his way, but was nearly tripped when the woman came up in front of him, her dark eyes angry.

"You don't understand! I'm poor and sick and hungry!" she shouted at him. _Just ignore her. They usually go away when you ignore them. _Keeping his brown gaze ahead, Altair continued on his way to the bureau with the beggar woman still trailing silently behind him. Giving a frustrated growl, Altair took a sharp right down an alley and found the footholds on the building nearest to him; they were slippery, but his years of experience allowed him to keep a strong grip on the wall and scaled up. It only took him a few seconds to get up onto the roof tops and quickly glanced down at the woman who had been following him. Her mouth was set in a firm, annoyed line and beneath her dirty, ratty clothing he could see that her body was tense and in her skinny hand she held a rock and appeared that she was about ready to chuck it at him.

Altair felt a smirk creep up onto his face before he quickly turned around and began running across the rooftop, the smirk soon turning into a small smile. He loved running across the roof tops; he loved the feeling of the slanting roofs and the wood underneath his boots, he loved the feeling of when he jumped from one building to another, the feeling of nothing underneath him and then landing gracefully on the other building, but it wasn't as enjoyable when he fell and missed his target. He had broken several bones before because he miscalculated on how far the building was away from him. Luckily, Malik and Kadar had been there to help him and were able to get him to the healer before there was any real permanent damage. _I guess Malik has done more for me than I had originally thought._

Shaking his head, the master-turned-novice assassin saw his target coming up; the roof was open and he could hear the quiet trickle of the water from the fountain that was inside the bureau and the even lighter tinkling of the chimes that Malik that he had hanging up by his desk, where the one armed man would make his maps and stand behind all day long. Altair wondered how it felt to be stuck behind a desk all day when he had been trained for the life of an assassin. He knew for the first few weeks of his imprisonment in the bureau, Malik had become stir crazy and the man refused to talk to him, even though they were "friends" at the time. The young man didn't even know what he and his friend were anymore; Malik only spoke to Altair as much as he had to and it was always cold and heartless, lacking the emotion that he had grown used to hearing ever since they were children.

Giving a small sigh, Altair thanked whoever might be up above that the guards weren't out and dropped silently into the bureau, being mindful of the fountain; the last time he had come to the building he had accidentally dropped into the fountain and all his former friend did was sneer at him and call him a novice. Feeling the ground beneath his feet once more, his eyes glanced over at the pill of pillows that always sat in the sun filled room and was half ways tempted to sit down on them and drift off to sleep, he couldn't remember the last time he actually slept, but he had a mission to fulfill and if he was able to stay on bureau master's good side, he might be able to stay the night and sleep…

"I thought I gave you all the information that you needed, novice." Malik growled slightly, his head bent over a map. He had heard the assassin creep into his bureau, but he didn't want to remove himself from his map; he had been working on it for days and he was nearly finished. The only thing that could possibly piss him off in that moment would be to have Altair somehow screw it up and he would have to start all over and knowing Altair, the assassin would figure out some way to destroy his work.

"Hello to you too, Malik. Yes, you did give me the information that I needed, but I have gathered enough to get to where I need to go." Altair responded coolly. Rolling his eyes at the expected "novice" comment, he wandered over towards a chair that sat in the corner by Malik's bed and took a seat. He just wanted to rest for a minute before he went on to complete his mission.

"Well, are you going to share this information with me, or do you just wish for me to give the feather and you leave. Personally, I would prefer the latter of the two options."

"Since you asked, my friend, the information I gathered was that Eyad Faakir is currently residing in Acre and that he has consorting with several high up Templars."

"Eyad Faakir? I thought he was one of the bureau leaders? Damn traitor!" Malik hissed through his teeth. Eyad Faakir had been best friends with Kadar. Why would he betray the assassins by associating with the Templars? The young 22 year old never wanted to become an assassin, but his father had forced him into the brotherhood against his will and almost immediately he had clung onto Kadar like a life line! Throughout their training, the two of them had become inseparable, but then Eyad had become sick with a terrible fever that seemed to spread around Maysaf and once he recovered, he was too weak and frail to become an assassin. Al Mualim told him that either he made himself useful in Maysaf or become a bureau leader and help the brotherhood. The young novice decided that he would become a bureau leader in Acre, claiming that he would rather help the assassins than remain useless in Maysaf, but who knew that he would turn his back on the brotherhood? What would Kadar think of his friend now?

"He is one of the bureau leaders. I must leave for Acre at dawn to ensure that I arrive tomorrow afternoon."

"Then stay here until then, Altair. I would rather have you here than sleeping in some alley where the guards could kill you."

Grinning, Altair stood up from his seat and walked into the adjoining room that held the soft, plush pillows. "Why this sudden hospitality? I thought you hated me?"

"I despise you with all my heart, Altair, but I would rather have a novice stay in my bureau than getting a lecture from Al Mualim, demanding why his 'best' assassin had been killed while sleeping unprotected." Malik pinched the bridge of his nose. Tonight was going to be a long night.

^.^

Altair closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the stone wall of the bureau. Malik hadn't said a word to him since they agreed that Altair should stay at the bureau instead of prowling around Jerusalem. The assassin was exhausted and he really didn't feel like riding all the way out to Acre, but he knew he must; he didn't have a choice when the orders came from Al Mualim.

But, at the moment, the assassin didn't have to worry about his missions, his assassinations, or the fact that Malik could quite possibly kill him while he was sitting. He felt a sense of calm he hadn't felt since the day he had become a master assassin and he forgot how it felt. _Perhaps I should relax more often during missions, but then I would get too lazy to even do the missions. What kind of an assassin would I be if I didn't assassinate anyone?_

Running his calloused hands over his face, Altair felt the stubble on his chin scratch his fingers and absently thought about removing the hair on his face; sometimes it distracted him and it would itch. The assassin took a deep breath before he brought his head forward and stared ahead at Malik. The man hadn't stopped working since he had arrived and he wondered if the bureau master was ever going to go to bed. Knowing the man since childhood, Altair knew he was a stubborn fool and pushed himself to his absolute limit so he guessed that Malik would more than likely get little to no sleep tonight. Chuckling at the thought, he let his brown eyes slip closed and frowned a little. He wished that he could just instantly fall asleep; he needed the energy for the mission and staying awake wasn't going to give him that energy that he needed, but for some reason instead of sleep, he would get these random visions of a young girl.

She was a few years younger than he was, maybe five or so, and she had short brown hair and piercing green eyes, but the thing that compelled him the most were the clothes that she always seemed to wear. They were much different from what he and the other citizens wore and he was curious as to know if the country where the Templars came from wore clothes like that. _I highly doubt that. They seem to be a bunch of conservative bastards, even more so than our people. She wears what appear to be pants and clothes that loosely cling to her body. Or she might be wearing what appears to be a short skirt, much too short for a woman, and matching top. She wears it almost every day; I wonder if that is her own uniform?_ Another thing that puzzled Altair when he saw the girl was that whenever he saw her, she had a terrified expression on her face, like she knew he was looking at her and watching her go through her life.

Why would the girl be afraid of him? What had he done to frighten her so? Was she afraid of something else? He couldn't imagine anything happening to her that would frighten her like that. _Shut up, Altair! This girl is a vision and nothing more! _

"Malik, can I ask you something?" Altair heard the former assassin groan in frustration, but his dark eyes looked over in his direction, letting him know that he had his full attention. "Have you ever had visions? It might sound like madness, but whenever I close my eyes, I see these images of people and of places that I have never even heard of. They all look strange and most of them revolve around this girl. I don't know what her name is, but every time I see her, she looks like a frightened animal, ready to run at the slightest sound or movement." The man mumbled quietly, hoping Malik had heard him so he wouldn't have to repeat himself.

"It sounds as if you have lost it, brother, but rest assured these visions or dreams or whatever you are having probably mean nothing. Perhaps you were out in the sun to long, novice." Malik sneered. What on earth was Altair talking about? Maybe the novice assassin had officially lost his mind along with his title.  
"I knew I shouldn't have said a word to you. You're about as helpful as a Templar."

"Glad I could be of service." Malik gave a mock bow before he turned back to his maps, his head shaking back and forth at his former friend's stupidity.

"It still bothers me though, the fact that she always looks so scared. I wonder what she is seeing and if I should be seeing it too. Or if the actual danger is in her world and not ours."

"Are you still talking? Honestly, Altair, these visions mean nothing. This girl is only a figment of your crazed mind and I'm sure that there isn't any danger coming your way, or hers. So if you would kindly please keep your mouth shut, I must finish this map before dawn."

"Doing something at dawn?" Altair quirked an eyebrow at the comment.

"As a matter of fact, I am, novice. It's called going to bed; I hear many people do it." The one armed man sneered, not even bothering to look over at the younger man.

Altair couldn't help but laugh at the sarcasm in the comment. Malik might hate him and he might be the biggest sarcastic bastard he knew, but the man still managed to lighten the mood of things. "Fine, I will stop speaking of these visions. Just don't tell anyone about what I have told you; this is in confidence." He didn't want Malik's tongue to slip and have word travel back to Maysaf that the once great Altair had officially gone insane and was having strange visions of even stranger things. All he received was a nod and he felt a bit more at ease.

Altair mulled over what Malik had told him. Perhaps the Rafiq was right; perhaps these visions meant nothing and that he shouldn't worry about him. His main concern should be his mission, not a young girl who didn't exist. Closing his eyes once more, he felt his body relax as he let the soft music the chimes were making lull him into a deep and dreamless sleep.

^.^

She wanted to scream. She wanted to punch something. She wanted to pull her hair out. Arianna was at her wits end with these…visions or dreams or whatever the hell was going with her! She had been sitting in the library minding her own business when she allowed her eyes to drop for a few moments; she knew the librarian would leave her alone so she didn't have to worry about being disturbed, but once they drifted completely shut, she wanted to snap them back open again. Altair had been sitting across from her at the table, his form was silhouetted in a light blue and there seemed to be a cocky smirk on his face. The girl wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face, but as she kept watching, she noticed that his attention wasn't on her, but on someone else.

Arianna saw that he was gazing over her shoulder and she quickly turned around in her seat and saw another figure in blue, but she couldn't make out his face or body. The only thing she knew was that she didn't need to feel afraid around him, that she was safe and that whoever was there wouldn't harm her, unlike Altair. The man made the seemingly tough girl terrified; she didn't want to get stabbed in her dreams again and end up bleeding all over the place. Arianna heard muffled voices, one belonging to Altair and the other belonging to the man who was with them also. She couldn't understand what they were saying, not like the last time when Altair had spoken to her in English, but from what she could gather, it sounded like the man behind her was growing increasingly annoyed with Altair, she already loved him for it, and she could hear a slightly concerned tone in his voice.

Then as abruptly as the vision had started, it ended leaving her to look into the blackness of her eyelids. _At least I wasn't attacked in this one! He didn't even appear to be threatening me! It was like I wasn't even there that time. _Arianna had opened up her eyes and looked around the nearly empty library and sighed in relief; at least no one was around to watch her freak out.

That was the only vision she seemed to have that day, which she found odd. Did they only happen when she closed her eyes? How was she going to be able to sleep? She wanted answers and she wanted them now! But she knew she wasn't going to get any. The only thing she could do was put up with them until she found a solution to her problem.

_Well, I guess Altair and I are going to become good friends, even if he threatens me again. It's not like I have much of a choice; either I get used to these visions and stay clear of his anger, or I sit here and go completely insane, which I'm pretty sure by this point has already happened! _

**Thank you for waiting so long for this update! I wrote this chapter three different times and this was the only one that I liked. I had to write a small bit for Altair; I thought our favorite assassin needed a little bit of attention, even if he is a big jerk. And of course we had to have Malik! Malik makes me laugh and I love him so much! Way to give Altair a hard time! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it. I had fun writing it! **

**^.^**


	3. Dreams Suck

**Wake Up**

They were running across the rooftops of Jerusalem, trying their absolute hardest to reach the bureau. Why were they running again? Hadn't she just fallen asleep mere moments ago? And why was she in robes similar to the man who plagued her dreams? Why were her breasts bound? Was it so they wouldn't notice she was a woman? She was so confused! She could hear shouting and screaming coming from behind her and her instincts automatically seemed to kick in; her body immediately began to pick up the pace, the thigh high leather boots that she was wearing were making quiet crunching sounds as she stepped on the tiny pebbles on the roofs. She could see the man in front of her, his flowing white robes were calling out to her, saying that if she didn't move faster she would surely be killed! The high sun was beginning to beat down on her covered body; even though barely any of her skin showed, the cloth did absolutely nothing to cool her body down! It was a thick heavy wool material, more suited for slowing down jabbing knives and swords than keeping her body cool. But it appeared as if the man in front of her was having no issues with the sun, the heat, or the people chasing after them. This all seemed routine for him, like he had been chased so many times that he could just simply go through the motions and not even think of them. He knew where all the bureaus were in all the cities, knew them by heart, knew all their masters, but it seemed as if she knew nothing. If she were to get separated from him, she would be lost and probably be killed by the shouting men behind her. Keeping her sharp green eyes focused on the running man, she took in a deep breath and ordered her tired limbs to push further and faster. It would be all over soon, she muttered; soon they would be in the cool shade of the bureau, listening to the master and man argued like an old married couple while she rested and prepared for whatever was thrown at her next. With that thought in mind, she ran up the wall of a smaller building in front of her, the worn leather of her fingerless gloves cracking as she gripped the edge of it and pulled herself off and quickly jumped back on the other side, still running on the sun baked roofs. She could see a rooftop garden not too far away and she could tell that the man in front of her could see it too; it meant that it was a place for them to hide and hope that the guards wouldn't shove their swords into their safe haven. And even if they did manage to stab her or the man she was following, they would be quiet, ignoring the sting of the cut and the warm, thick liquid leaking out.

She watched closely as the man hopped quietly into the garden and she tried her best to do the same, but she couldn't help but let out a small noise of pain as she felt her ankle twist as she jumped into the shaded area. She landed less than gracefully inside, ignoring the way the wood and hay dug into her skin; all she could feel was the sheer pain radiating from her ankle. She had definitely twisted it and she didn't know how long it would be until she could walk again. For some reason, she could feel disappointment well up in her chest. Was she disappointed because she had failed to do something as simple as jumping into a garden? Or was it the fact that she wouldn't be able to run with the man she had been following? He didn't mean anything to her, but for some reason, her mind was screaming at her to not disappoint him; that if she disappointed him she would be nothing but a disgrace. And that was exactly what she was feeling. With her throbbing ankle, she hid as silently as she could, even holding her breath in while the guards were looking around the garden, wondering where the two of them had disappeared to. Her green eyes drifted over to where the man was sitting calmly and wondered how he could be so cool in a situation such as this. He was just sitting there and basically twiddling his thumbs! Wasn't he the least bit concerned about the men outside the small hideout? She was about to open her mouth, but his hand suddenly came flying towards her lips, practically smacking them shut and he gave her a glare and she immediately knew what he meant by it: be quiet or I'm leaving you here to rot. Giving a quick nod, she could feel her short hair sticking to her forehead, the perspiration matting it down and she knew once she took the hood off that it would fly in a million different directions. But something was bothering her! When had she gotten her hair cut? The last time she remembered seeing her hair it nearly reached her ass! Was it supposed to be cut short, like how her breasts were bound, so people would assume that she was a boy? She could tell that there was something nagging in the back of her mind, telling her that she knew all the details, all the secrets, but she couldn't figure them out on her own. She needed help and the one thing her subconscious kept yelling at her was that the man in the flowing white robes and hood covered head was the only one who could do that.

Listening closely, her ears caught the sounds of the men's footsteps slowly disappearing; it seemed as if they had finally given up on their search for them and were starting to head back to their original post. The man's rough, calloused hand moved away from her chapped lips and she finally sucked in a full breath. Running her tongue over her dry lips, she could still taste the leather that covered his hands, just like hers and as weird as it was, she didn't mind the taste of it. It was salty, but musky at the same time. Shaking her head slightly, she pulled off her hood and ran her fingers through her short hair, slightly annoyed that all of her hair was gone. A soft sigh released from her lips and she closed her bright green eyes. When was the last time she had gotten any real sleep? She felt as if she had been up for days, fighting and running and doing who knows what else! She cracked open her eyes for a brief second and caught a glimpse of the man in front of her, the man she knew attacked her during the day and night. He looked the same, really; she had yet to really see what he looked like underneath his hood, but her mind, yet again, told her that she knew what he looked like! That she knew what all of his facial features were and how long and soft his hair was, how rough his cheeks could be, how muscular he was underneath the robes. Her cheeks began to redden as her thoughts started to become a little more than body physique descriptions and she tried desperately to wipe them from her mind! Too much information was being tossed at her at once and she needed time to sit down and think! Think everything through! Tearing her eyes away before things could go from bad to worse, she looked down and tried her best to figure out how badly injured her ankle was. She brushed her fingers lightly over the leather of her boot and she had to bit her lip to keep in the pained scream that was stuck in her throat. It hurt like hell. And she wanted something to be done to it right now!

"What's wrong with your ankle?" the man before he spoke suddenly, his voice loud within the silence. Green clashed with brown and suddenly she felt very small; this man meant something to her. Something strong and powerful and she could tell that no matter what she did, the connection wouldn't go away. But the voice in her head repeated over and over that she was going to be hurt, she was going to be betrayed and that there was nothing she could do about it. She would just have to live with her pain and continue on following this man wherever he went because no matter what his faults were she couldn't abandon him. She could hate him for the rest of her life and she would still follow him.

"Answer me, novice!" his voice brought her back again. It sounded angry this time. Probably because she hadn't answered him immediately after he had asked her.

"I-It hurts quite a bit. I think…I think I might have broken it or twisted it…or something." She stuttered out, trying to block the now overwhelming pain from her mind. She had received far worse injuries than just a twisted ankle; she could feel the scars that twisted across her skin like an intricate tattoo. His gloved hands began to swim into her vision and she quickly jerked back her injured leg, ignoring the needles of agony that shot up her entire leg. She could see that he was only trying to figure out what was wrong with her, but she didn't want to feel the red hot touch of someone's hand on her injury; there was only one person in the world she trusted with her injuries and she would just have to wait patiently until they arrived.

A sigh similar to the one she had given earlier escaped his scarred and equally, if not more, chapped lips. He seemed frustrated that he couldn't help her with her ankle and she could tell that he was thinking about how picky she was when it came to the person who treated her injuries and how he would have to endure the many "novice" insults that were bound to come just for her sake and safety. Even though she was slightly annoyed with the way his eyes were showing his disagreement on where they needed to go, she appreciated his gesture of at least attempting to make her feel safe. "Can we please go see Master Malik? I know you two don't…get along very well, but you know how I am! You know he is the only one I allow to touch me when I'm hurting." She whispered softly, trying her best to sound confident. The words slipped easily out of her mouth and she was slightly confused at the words themselves. Ignoring the feeling in her gut, she watched silently as the man gave a quick nod and peaked outside the curtains of the garden, his head turning to make sure that there weren't any guards out. And if there were, they sure weren't going to be alive much longer.

"It's safe to go out now. Just grab onto my arm and I'll help you down." The man grasped her hand before she could respond and she tried to put as much of her weight as possible on her good leg as he pulled her up. She quickly eased onto her non injured leg, but when she went to move her ankle just the tiniest bit a small whimper escaped her mouth and she tried her hardest to cover it up. Guiding her out of their hiding place, the man walked slowly and patiently across the sun baked roof and over to a ledge. She could see that he expected her to jump off of the high ledge and automatically her stomach did a flip; she hated heights with a burning passion and knowing that she was about to jump off a roof and the only safety net she had was cart full of hay didn't help her feelings dwindle. Her gaze shifted over to the man's and she could see the smirk that played on his lips. He knew that she was scared! Terrified to do this jump by herself!

"Today is the day you get to perform your first Leap of Faith, novice. Normally we would wait until we officially made you a master assassin, but I would like to be able to see you perform it once. Being an assassin doesn't exactly secure our chances of living to see the future and I want to see my novice perform a leap." The man explained, his voice laced with a tinge of sadness. She didn't want to perform a leap though! Memories played through of the man leaping gracefully off the building and landing almost silently in the hay and she could feel the jealousy and terror that ran through her body when she watched him fall, wishing she could do the same, but at the same time too scared to even think of the possibility.

As if he could sense her hesitancy, the man wrapped his strong arm around her waist and helped her hobble closer to the edge. His eyes once again held frustration, but gentle understanding was in there too. Not as apparent, but it was definitely there. "Fine. Seeing as how this is your first leap, and I remember you mentioning something about heights at some point during our early days of training, I'll help you perform you're very first one. Now, the trick with leaping is…" The man's voice droned on and on about all the little technical aspects of plummeting off the side of a building and she couldn't help but wonder if it was inflating his ego at all, but she didn't mind listening to him talk; it has a soothing quality to it that she enjoyed listening to. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on her shoulder and let herself take a deep breath in and out, feeling the slight wind blow at her hood and what little hair she had left. It felt nice to be outside and not cooped up inside of a building all day long. The air was fresher, you could feel the actual wind on your face, and the sun felt amazing on her tanned skin.

"Take a Leap of Faith with me, Arianna, and I can show you everything that has to do with being an assassin."

At the sound of her name, she felt herself beginning to fall, but there weren't any strong arms around her as promised. Instead she was falling face first into a pile of hay and the only reaction she could get out of her frozen body was to shield her face with her arms and pray that she wouldn't die. This was why she didn't like heights! This is why she wanted someone to be there with her when she took her leap she wanted someone to be there! With her eyes still closed, she waited for impact, waited for the hay to cut through her leather bracers and thick fabric and into her skin, waiting to hear the sickening crack of her bones as she hit the cart and went through the ground. She was sure she was going to break the cart; while she wasn't a heavy girl, she wasn't exactly the skinniest and at the rate she was falling, she was sure to break through the wood and hit the hard ground below.

But nothing came. How long had she been falling for? She knew it had been for awhile, but she would have hit something by now! Opening her eyes for a second, she was surprised to find herself not in Jerusalem, but in a bedroom. A very modern, very ordinary bedroom. Was it supposed to be her room? How was it that she could be in a bedroom, in an incredibly soft bed, when she had been plummeting to her death? Green eyes scanned the room quickly, her foggy brain wasn't helping her much and she took in her surroundings. She was in her bedroom at her mother's house, in her mother's apartment, in New York City, which was in the United States. She was far away from Jerusalem, away from the warm sun, away from weather beaten rooftops, from cranky bureau leaders, and certainly away from the man who had lied to her about taking a leap with her. His sun kissed features flashed before her eyes and she had to blink a couple of times in order to remain focused in the present and not in the past she had currently been in.

Giving a quiet groan, Arianna moved her arms slowly and noticed that they were spread out like eagle wings in flight, just like the man had said to spread her arms as she jumped. Perhaps she had done the leap correctly after all. The next thing the teen noticed was how sore her legs were; she felt as if she had run several miles and didn't stop for a single break! But the worst was yet to come. The worst pain was when she tried to move her ankle. Pain flared up so intensely that she had to bite her lip once again and in the same place as she had earlier in order to keep herself from screaming. The last thing she needed was to wake up her mom or her baby sister. She was sure that her mom's boyfriend would just shrug her off if she ended up screaming, deciding that it was her mother's job to take care of her and he was only there part time. Trying her best to ignore everything else, Arianna kept her ankle as stable as it could be and sat up in her bed, pushing off the fluffy blue comforter and pink sheets away from her legs and let out groan; her ankle was swollen at least twice its regular size and was beginning to turn a nasty shade of yellow and purple. It was disgusting to look at and she knew that there was absolutely no way she could hide it from her mom! She couldn't even move without it hurting and as soon as she limped into the kitchen, her mom would automatically take her to the doctor without even asking her what had happened or how she did it. Her mom freaked out over every little injury that she and her younger sister received, even if it was just a slight cut or scrap.

Her green eyes quickly looked over at her clock and a sigh released from her mouth; it was still early and she could conceal her injury for a little longer than she had originally planned. For now, Arianna could try to pretend that her ankle didn't hurt and she could concentrate on her dream. Her dream. The entire cause of why her leg was injured, why she had woken up in a spread eagle position, why she had woken up in a cold sweat. She recognized the man in her dream; it was obviously Altair. She would never, ever forget his face, but what was up with those thoughts running through her head? She hated Altair! He had turned her pretty normal life completely upside down and now she was running across rooftops with him in freaking Jerusalem! But who was that other person she had been thinking of after she had injured herself? The most she could remember was that he was the master of the bureau in the ancient city. Was he important to her? Was he important to Altair? When she had said the man's name, sadness seemed to filter through his eyes, but it passed so quickly that she had barely seen it. Sighing again, this time out of frustration, Arianna laid back down, forgetting temporarily of the pain radiating out of her leg, and closed her eyes. Freaky dreams or not, she had to get some sleep and if that meant she was going to get hurt in the process then she would just have to remember to pick up some bandages and probably keep her doctor's number on her speed dial.


End file.
